Late rally by Fort Gibson dooms Poteau wrestlers

December 13, 2012

FORT GIBSON â€” A late surge by the Fort Gibson Tigers wrestling team spelled doom for the Poteau Pirates in Tuesday night's first Class 4A District Dual.
Leaidng 27-12 at the midway point of Tuesday night's dual, the Tigers ended up winning six of the final seven bouts as they rallied for a 44-33 victory â€” and a leg up on the berth to the Class 4A Dual State Tournament in February.
What makes the late Fort Gibson rally disappointing for the Pirates (7-4) is that in five of those last seven matches they were leading before suffering losses. The only win in that stretch of bouts came from Gabe Sanchez, who pinned his opponent at 195 pounds.
Things could not have gotten off to a better start for Poteau, which won five of the first seven matches. Landon Daily won by forfeit at 106 pounds, Sam Shore won a 4-3 decision at 132 pounds and Devin Anderson (120 pounds), Roderick Hornbuckle (138) and Tyler Tustin (145).
The Pirates will return to action Friday and Saturday at the Miami Tournament, which Hornbuckle said will have 17 teams from four different states.